Trees are not as biblical as vines and indeed the tree is far too independent a creature to really express the body of Christ. Vines require a supportive framework so the more we lean on God the better our vine will be. Lay a vine on its own on the ground and it will soon rot away.

The problem of course is that whatever else is taught about the body is subsumed under the dominant fact that there is only one vine. One is either a part of it or not. Herein lies the schismatic’s problem for one cannot declare oneself cut off, instead one has to argue that all others are just ‘vinelike growths’ and are not branches of the one vine.

With us “emergers” we do have an in-built diversity that should help to protect us from infighting. But, I see the bigger problem as being that while we may be emerging theologically, from whatever our roots were (to spoil the metaphor), we still have to figure how we are still connected in real ways to the parent body. Thinking that we are out to plant our own private vineyard(s) will mean a complete break from the bible and from the God-declared one vine.

Live to serve : Serve to live